Method of providing tactile feedback and apparatus

ABSTRACT

A method includes detecting a query gesture and actuating, in response to the query gesture, an actuator to provide tactile feedback including information associated with the query gesture. The query gesture may be detected on a touch-sensitive display of a portable electronic device.

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The present disclosure relates to portable electronic devices, includingbut not limited to portable electronic devices having touch-sensitivedisplays and their control.

BACKGROUND

Electronic devices, including portable electronic devices, have gainedwidespread use and may provide a variety of functions including, forexample, telephonic, electronic messaging and other personal informationmanager (PIM) application functions. Portable electronic devicesinclude, for example, several types of mobile stations such as simplecellular telephones, smart telephones, wireless personal digitalassistants (PDAs), and laptop computers with wireless 802.11 orBluetooth capabilities. These devices run on a wide variety of networksfrom data-only networks such as Mobitex® and DataTAC® networks tocomplex voice and data networks such as GSM/GPRS, CDMA, EDGE, UMTS andCDMA2000 networks.

Portable electronic devices such as PDAs or smart telephones aregenerally intended for handheld use and ease of portability. Smallerdevices are generally desirable for portability. A touch screen displayfor input and output is particularly useful on such handheld devices, assuch handheld devices are small and are therefore limited in spaceavailable for user input and output. Further, the screen content ontouch-sensitive displays, also known as touchscreen displays, may bemodified depending on the functions and operations being performed.These devices have a limited area for rendering content on the touchscreen display and for rendering features or icons, for example, foruser interaction. With continued demand for decreased size of portableelectronic devices, touch-sensitive displays continue to decrease insize.

Improvements in touch-sensitive devices are therefore desirable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a portable electronic device in accordancewith the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of detecting a query gestureand providing tactile feedback in accordance with the disclosure.

FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 5, FIG. 6, and FIG. 7 illustrate various querygestures on a touch-sensitive display in accordance with the disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates graphs of force of a query gesture on atouch-sensitive display and the tactile feedback provided in response tothe query gesture in accordance with the disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of conveying meetinginformation in accordance with the disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a sectional side view of a portable electronic device withpiezoelectric actuators in accordance with the disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a sectional side view of a portable electronic device with adepressed touch-sensitive display in accordance with the disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a sectional side view of a piezoelectric actuator inaccordance with the disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a sectional side view of a piezoelectric actuator with aforce sensor in accordance with the disclosure.

FIG. 14, FIG. 15, and FIG. 16 illustrate various holsters for a portableelectronic device in accordance with the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A method and a portable electronic device are described for non-visuallycommunicating information in response to detection of a query gesture ona touch-sensitive display of the portable electronic device. Tactilefeedback is provided that communicates information related to the querygesture. The characteristics of the tactile feedback may vary based onone or more characteristics of the query gesture, such as a spatiallocation along a path of the gesture or a force with which the gestureis imparted on the touch-sensitive display.

Typically, most user interaction with a portable electronic deviceoccurs when the user simultaneously views the display and operates thedevice. In many situations, such as during a conversation with anotherperson or during a meeting, giving attention to a device is oftenconsidered impolite. A user may discreetly prompt the portableelectronic device for information via a query gesture and receive theinformation related to the query gesture in the form of tactile feedbackwithout looking at the device. Information may be obtained from theportable electronic device without removing the device from a pocket ora holster for the device.

In many devices, notifications are “pushed” when a pre-arranged eventoccurs, e.g., a reminder occurs fifteen minutes before a meeting starttime, a chime occurs at the top of the hour, or a notification occurswhen an email is received. These notifications may be ignored or notnoticed by the user. The devices and methods in this disclosureadvantageously facilitate a request, i.e., “pull,” for information fromthe device at the user's convenience to obtain information that the userrequests.

For simplicity and clarity of illustration, reference numerals may berepeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogouselements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in orderto provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein.The embodiments described herein may be practiced without these specificdetails. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures andcomponents have not been described in detail so as not to obscure theembodiments described herein. Also, the description is not to beconsidered as limited to the scope of the embodiments described herein.

The disclosure generally relates to an electronic device, which in theembodiments described herein is a portable electronic device. Examplesof portable electronic devices include mobile, or handheld, wirelesscommunication devices such as pagers, cellular phones, cellularsmart-phones, wireless organizers, personal digital assistants,wirelessly enabled notebook computers, and the like. The portableelectronic device may also be a portable electronic device withoutwireless communication capabilities such as a handheld electronic gamedevice, digital photograph album, digital camera, or other device.

A block diagram of an example of a portable electronic device 100 isshown in FIG. 1. The portable electronic device 100 includes multiplecomponents, such as a processor 102 that controls the overall operationof the portable electronic device 100. Communication functions,including data and voice communications, are performed through acommunication subsystem 104. Data received by the portable electronicdevice 100 is decompressed and decrypted by a decoder 106. Thecommunication subsystem 104 receives messages from and sends messages toa wireless network 150. The wireless network 150 may be any type ofwireless network, including, but not limited to, data wireless networks,voice wireless networks, and networks that support both voice and datacommunications. A power source 142, such as one or more rechargeablebatteries or a port to an external power supply, powers the portableelectronic device 100.

The processor 102 interacts with other components, such as a RandomAccess Memory (RAM) 108, memory 110, a display 112 with atouch-sensitive overlay 114 connected to an electronic controller 116that together comprise a touch-sensitive display 118, an actuator 120,one or more force sensors 122, an auxiliary input/output (I/O) subsystem124, a data port 126, a speaker 128, a microphone 130, short-rangecommunications 132 and other device subsystems 134. User-interactionwith a graphical user interface is performed through the touch-sensitiveoverlay 114. The processor 102 interacts with the touch-sensitiveoverlay 114 via the electronic controller 116. Information, such astext, characters, symbols, images, icons, and other items that may bedisplayed on a portable electronic device, is displayed or rendered onthe touch-sensitive display 118 via the processor 102. The processor 102may also interact with an accelerometer 136 as shown in FIG. 1. Theaccelerometer 136 may include a cantilever beam with a proof mass andsuitable deflection sensing circuitry. The accelerometer 136 may beutilized for detecting direction of gravitational forces orgravity-induced reaction forces.

To identify a subscriber for network access according to the presentembodiment, the portable electronic device 100 uses a SubscriberIdentity Module or a Removable User Identity Module (SIM/RUIM) card 138inserted into a SIM/RUIM interface 140 for communication with a networksuch as the wireless network 150. Alternatively, user identificationinformation may be programmed into the memory 110.

The portable electronic device 100 includes an operating system 146 andsoftware components 148 that are executed by the processor 102 and aretypically stored in an updatable persistent store such as the memory110. Additional applications may be loaded onto the portable electronicdevice 100 through the wireless network 150, the auxiliary I/O subsystem124, the data port 126, the short-range communications subsystem 132, orany other suitable device subsystem 134.

A received signal such as a text message, an e-mail message, or web pagedownload is processed by the communication subsystem 104 and input tothe processor 102. The processor 102 processes the received signal foroutput to the display 112 and/or to the auxiliary I/O subsystem 124. Asubscriber may also compose data items, such as e-mail messages, forexample, which may be transmitted over the wireless network 150 throughthe communication subsystem 104. For voice communications, the overalloperation of the portable electronic device 100 is similar. The speaker128 outputs audible information converted from electrical signals, andthe microphone 130 converts audible information into electrical signalsfor processing.

The touch-sensitive display 118 may be any suitable touch-sensitivedisplay, such as a capacitive, resistive, infrared, surface acousticwave (SAW) touch-sensitive display, strain gauge, optical imaging,dispersive signal technology, acoustic pulse recognition, and so forth,as known in the art. A capacitive touch-sensitive display includes acapacitive touch-sensitive overlay 114. The overlay 114 may be anassembly of multiple layers in a stack including, for example, asubstrate, a ground shield layer, a barrier layer, one or morecapacitive touch sensor layers separated by a substrate or otherbarrier, and a cover. The capacitive touch sensor layers may be anysuitable material, such as patterned indium tin oxide (ITO).

One or more touches, also known as touch contacts or touch events, maybe detected by the touch-sensitive display 118. The processor 102 maydetermine attributes of the touch, including a location of a touch.Touch location data may include an area of contact or a single point ofcontact, such as a point at or near a center of the area of contact. Thelocation of a detected touch may include x and y components, e.g.,horizontal and vertical components, respectively, with respect to one'sview of the touch-sensitive display 118. For example, the x locationcomponent may be determined by a signal generated from one touch sensor,and the y location component may be determined by a signal generatedfrom another touch sensor. A signal is provided to the controller 116 inresponse to detection of a touch. A touch may be detected from anysuitable object, such as a finger, thumb, appendage, or other items, forexample, a stylus, pen, or other pointer, depending on the nature of thetouch-sensitive display 118. Multiple simultaneous touches may bedetected.

The location of the touch may be associated with information displayed,for example, via a graphical user interface. Further information about atouch, such as a contact area of the touch on the touch-sensitivedisplay 118 or the pressure or force with which the touch is imparted onthe touch-sensitive display 118 may be determined and provided to or bythe processor 102. A touch or touch event may comprise one or morevarious actions, including, but not limited to, one or more contacts,contact including movement, contact over a period of time, and variouscombinations thereof. A gesture is a form of a touch.

The actuator(s) 120 may be depressed or activated by applying sufficientforce to the touch-sensitive display 118 to overcome the actuation forceof the actuator 120. The actuator(s) 120 may be actuated by pressinganywhere on the touch-sensitive display 118. The actuator(s) 120 mayprovide input to the processor 102 when actuated. Actuation of theactuator(s) 120 may result in provision of tactile feedback. When forceis applied, the touch-sensitive display 118 is depressible, pivotable,and/or movable. Such a force may actuate the actuator(s) 120.

A flowchart illustrating a method of detecting a query gesture andproviding tactile feedback is shown in FIG. 2. The method may be carriedout by software executed, for example, by the processor 102. Coding ofsoftware for carrying out such a method is within the scope of a personof ordinary skill in the art given the present description. The methodmay contain additional or fewer processes than shown and/or described,and may be performed in a different order.

A query gesture is a gesture that is interpreted as a request forinformation. A query gesture may include a touch event along a path overa period of time. The query gesture need not be associated with anyinformation or element displayed on the touch-sensitive display 118. Theforce imparted on the display by the query gesture may be constant ormay change over the path or period of time of the gesture.Alternatively, the query gesture may be provided via a trackball,trackpad, optical joystick, or other input device. The presentdisclosure describes the details of an embodiment in a touch-sensitivedisplay.

When a query gesture is detected 202 on the touch sensitive display 118,the type of query gesture is determined 206. Each different type ofquery gesture requests different information. The type of query gesturemay be determined by the touch-sensitive display 118 sending one or moresignals conveying touch-related data to the controller 116 and/or theprocessor 102, which interpret and/or process the one or more signals todetermine the type of gesture, for example, by interpreting one or moreattributes of the gesture, such as the shape, location, length,duration, and so forth.

A specific area of touch-sensitive display 118 may be monitored for aquery gesture. When a query gesture is detected in the area of thetouch-sensitive display 118, the type of query gesture may be determinedby the location of the gesture on the touch-sensitive display 118. Thearea may be comprised of one or more regions that may be adjacent ordisjoint and that may be monitored for query gestures.

The portable electronic device 100 may be configured such that a querygesture may be detected anywhere on the touch-sensitive display 118. Thegesture may be monitored for a period of time or over a distance of apath along the touch-sensitive display 118 before identifying whichtype, if any, query gesture is detected. For example, the initialsegment of the path of multiple types of query gestures may be similar.The device 100 may need to continue monitoring the gesture until enoughof the gesture is detected to accurately identify that the gesture is atype of query gesture. One type of query gesture may be detected frommultiple different gestures, which may differ by one or more of shape,size, location, orientation, and so forth.

The query gesture may include an initial segment that identifies thetype of query gesture and an information-providing segment during whichtactile feedback may be provided. A period of time may elapse betweenthe initial segment and the information-providing segment during whichtime contact with the touch-sensitive display 118 may break off.

The portable electronic device 100 may be configured to identify onlyone type of query gesture. In this situation, determining the type ofquery gesture 206 may be unnecessary or may involve simply detecting thequery gesture on the touch-sensitive display 118.

The query gesture may be continuously or periodically monitoredthroughout the process. The monitored characteristics of the querygesture may include the current spatial location of the query gesture onthe touch-sensitive display 118, the current force of the query gestureon the touch-sensitive display 118, the time or rate at which the querygesture or aspects of the query gesture occur, the number ofsimultaneous touch contacts with the touch-sensitive display 118, and soforth.

A determination is made 208 whether to provide tactile feedback tocommunicate information in response to the query gesture. When tactilefeedback is provided 210, the actuators 120 may be actuated to providetactile feedback that may be based on one or more characteristics of thequery gesture. The actuators 120 may provide tactile feedback comprisingany combination of vibration, one or more pulses, or other types oftactile feedback that communicate information requested by the querygesture. The information requested by the query gesture may be obtainedfrom an application that may or may not be running, and/or from thememory storing information associated with the application, such as acalendar, email, or clock application. The query gesture may bemonitored periodically or continuously, and the tactile feedback mayvary, and may temporarily cease, throughout the duration of the querygesture.

When the gesture is not complete at 212, the query gesture is monitored214, for example, the gesture characteristics are obtained andinterpreted as described above, and the process continues at 208. Whenthe query gesture is complete at 212, the process continues at 202.During a single query gesture, tactile feedback may be generatednumerous times and/or in various ways. Optionally, a mode of operationmay be entered, for example, automatically when no activity occurs for aperiod of time or by menu selection, wherein monitoring for querygestures is turned on or established as a primary function, for example,in a user profile.

Examples of various query gestures are shown in FIG. 3 through FIG. 6.Numerous other types and paths of query gestures may be utilized, andother types of tactile feedback may be provided in response to the querygestures, and/or different information may be communicated via thetactile feedback than associated with these examples. The paths ofvarious query gestures 302, 402, 502, 602 that request the current timeare illustrated by arrows. In each example, the current time is 6:45 PM.

The paths of the query gestures 302, 402, 502 in FIG. 3 through FIG. 5are generally angular or circular in direction and may be considered toresemble the face of a clock. The radius of the circular or angularquery gesture need not remain constant throughout the query gesture. Theangular direction of the gesture, e.g., clockwise or counterclockwise,may represent different types of query gestures or the same type ofquery gesture. A minute hand 304 and an hour hand 306 that meet at apoint on the clock are shown by dotted lines to illustrate the timecomponents of hours and minutes. Information may not be displayed suchthat operation of the portable electronic device 100 is not readilyapparent. Although information related to the gesture need not bedisplayed, the portable electronic device 100 may display clock hands orother information in response to detecting the query gesture.

Each of the query gestures 302, 402, 502, 602 illustrates differentquery gestures and/or combinations of locations along the query gestureat which tactile feedback may be generated. The provision of the tactilefeedback is based, at least in part, on a location within the querygesture 302, 402, 502 as the query gesture is detected and monitored inthe examples shown in FIG. 3 through FIG. 5.

Although the locations are identified as points in the figures, alocation may comprise an area, region, or line on the touch-sensitivedisplay 118 and may be bounded in any of a number of ways. For example,a location may comprise an angular location, within an angular range,relative to a point 504, such as the center of the circle drawn as aclock face, regardless of the radial distance of an actual point ofdetection to the point 504.

As shown in FIG. 3, the query gesture 302 starts 12 o'clock and proceedsclockwise to a location 308 that angularly corresponds to the locationof the minute hand 304, which is the 45-minute location in this example.The actuators 120 provide tactile feedback when the touch is at the 45minute location 308 within the query gesture 302.

A user may have a general idea of the current time, e.g., the currenthour, but may not know a more specific aspect of the time, i.e., thecurrent minutes. Tactile feedback may be provided such that during thefirst rotation of the query gesture 302, the minute aspect of the timeis communicated. As the path of the query gesture 302 angularlyapproaches the current hour hand 306, no tactile feedback is provided,but as the path of the query gesture 302 reaches the minute hand 304associated with 45 minutes, tactile feedback is provided. Alternatively,the actuators 120 may provide substantially constant tactile feedbackthat starts when the query gesture 302 is detected and stops when thelocation 308 related to the information is reached.

When the query gesture continues clockwise in a generally circulardirection, such as in FIG. 4, the current hour information is provided,for example, after the query gesture extends 360 degrees and at alocation 404 associated with the relevant hour. Such a gesture is usefulwhen a user is interested in knowing the current hour and minute. Duringthe first 360 degrees of the query gesture, tactile feedback is providedat the location 308 that corresponds to the angular position of 45minutes, i.e., the minute hand 304. After the query gesture extends 360degrees, tactile feedback is provided at a location 404 associated withthe hour, i.e., 6 PM, which corresponds to the angular position of thehour hand 306. The tactile feedback may be provided at a locationassociated with the location of the hour hand, such as ¾ of the waybetween 6 PM and 7 PM as shown in FIG. 4. Alternatively, tactilefeedback may be provided at the location at which the reference numeralfor the corresponding hour is located on a clock face, e.g., thereference numeral “6” on a clock face.

By utilizing locations during two separate rotations, tactile feedbackmay be provided to quickly and unambiguously provide the minute and hourof the current time. Although a single rotation around a circle may beutilized to provide the time, discerning tactile feedback when theminute and hour hands are aligned or nearly aligned may be difficultunless special tactile feedback is devised for such times. Utilizing asecond rotation spaces the tactile feedback for the minute and the hour.Angularly spacing the locations 308 and 404 at which tactile feedback isprovided advantageously helps the user to differentiate between thetactile feedback that communicates the time components associated withthe minute location 308 and hour location 404. When the query gestureextends beyond 720 degrees, the feedback may be provided again, minutesduring the next revolution and hours in the subsequent revolution.

Tactile feedback associated with the minute and the hour may be providedfor a query gesture that extends less than 360 degrees in a circulardirection. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, tactile feedback may beprovided at the hour location 404 corresponding to the position of thehour hand 306 and tactile feedback may be provided at the minutelocation 308 corresponding to the position of the minute hand 304,within the initial 360 degree path of the query gesture 502. The tactilefeedback generated at each of the locations 308, 404 may be differentfrom one another such that the feedback is clearly identifiable with oneof the time components. For example, tactile feedback that includes longpulses may be associated with the hour and tactile feedback thatincludes short pulses may be associated with the minute. A third type offeedback, such as a vibration or alternating long and short pulses maybe utilized when the minute hand and the hour hand coincide, such as atmidnight or noon. When the query gesture extends beyond 360 degrees, thefeedback may be provided again at the same locations 308, 404.

The tactile feedback may convey information other than by provision atthe spatial location of the hour and minute of the current time on acircular reference. The tactile feedback may comprise a plurality ofblocks, segments, or pulses that indicate additional information. Forexample, the tactile feedback provided at the 45-minute location 308 mayinclude a series of nine pulses, each representing 5-minute blocks oftime, to further indicate the 45-minute aspect of time. Alternatively,while at the minute location 308, a number of pulses may be provided toindicate the hour, which, in this example, is six. A code may beutilized to shorten the communication of the hour, where each long pulserepresents two hours and a short pulse represents one hour, such that nomore than six pulses are provided.

Although FIG. 3 through FIG. 5 show the 12 o'clock location as orientedtoward the top of the portable electronic device 100, relative to theorientation of the drawing, the clock may be absolute or relative inorientation to the touch-sensitive display 118 on the portableelectronic device 100. Any point at which the query gesture starts maybe designated as the 12 o'clock location, and the relative locations ofthe minute and hour accordingly angularly adjusted. Alternatively, aparticular direction may be designated as the 12 o'clock location.

Non-circular gestures may be interpreted as query gestures that requestan indication of the time, such as the L-shaped gesture 602 in FIG. 6.In FIG. 6, an L-shaped gesture 602 replaces a circular gesture as inFIG. 3 through FIG. 5, with each axis 604, 606 representing a componentof the current time, i.e., the minute or the hour. The distance alongeach axis 604, 606 from the origin 608 provides an indication of time,e.g., proportional to how the minute or hour extends from the 12 o'clocklocation. For example, the distance along the y axis 604 from the origin608 may indicate the number of minutes, while the distance along the xaxis 606 from the origin 608 may indicate the number of hours. When agesture is spatially located at a location 610 along the y axis 604,tactile feedback is generated to indicate that this percentage 75% ofthe distance along the y axis 604 corresponds to the amount of rotation,e.g., 270 degrees out of 360 degrees at the 45 minute location. Tactilefeedback may be provided along the x axis 606 at a location 612 toindicate the hour, where 50% of the distance along the x axis 606corresponds to 50% of rotation around a circle, e.g., 180 degrees or 6o'clock. Although the minute axis may be advantageously placed along thelonger of the axes to provide finer detail regarding the minuteinformation, the axes may be oriented differently.

Query gestures may request other information, such as how many unreademails are in an email inbox or how many missed calls have registered ina given time period. A rectangular or nearly rectangular gesture 702 mayreturn the number of unread emails via tactile feedback, e.g., one pulseprovided per unread email, such as shown in FIG. 7. This information maybe conveyed as a series of tactile pulses, illustrated as dots 704 inFIG. 7, in some other form such as the strength of a vibration, or anytactile stimulation, including those described herein. A user enterablesetting may provide that each pulse represents a quantity of unreademails, such as one, two, three, four, and so forth. Optionally, thequery gesture of a rectangle may be identified from a gesture comprisingless than four sides of a rectangle, e.g., after a right angle in thetouch is detected or after three sides of a rectangle are detected. Theinformation may be repeated, for example, when the touch is continuedanother revolution around the rectangle or by discontinuing the gestureand starting the gesture again. Other shapes of gestures may representother functions. For example, a triangle gesture may provide the numberof missed calls. A query gesture shaped like the number 8 or infinitymay indicate how many SMS or text messages are unread or unanswered. Oneor more user enterable settings that identify, for example, the form ornature of tactile feedback, whether or not query gestures are monitoredupon holster detection, and other parameters may be stored in the device100.

When information is provided via tactile feedback in response to thequery gesture, the tactile feedback may begin as soon as a relevant partof the gesture is detected, e.g., half a circle, right turn for arectangular gesture, sharp turn for a triangle, extra revolution, and soforth. Alternatively, the tactile feedback may begin when any touch isdetected in a predetermined region, such as a corner of the device or aregion aligned with a guide on a holster, or when a touch actuates aswitch or actuator 120 or meets a touch threshold, e.g., force,duration, and so forth. The tactile feedback may be provided as long asthe query gesture continues or alternatively may end when theinformation has been provided. Information may be repeated at variouspoints of a continued query gesture, e.g., on a new revolution of thegesture. Tactile feedback may also be discontinued when the gesturestops, whether or not all the information was conveyed. For example, auser may only care when more than five unread emails are present, andmay discontinue the query gesture after tactile feedback indicates five,e.g., after five pulses. In this situation, the tactile feedback may bediscontinued, e.g., to save battery charge. Information provided in theform of pulses may be provided, for example, at equal time intervals,e.g., every 200 ms or 500 ms, or at equal distances, e.g., every 5 mm orevery 10 mm. When the information requested is zero, e.g., no unreademails or missed calls, tactile feedback may have a differentcharacteristic than the information, e.g., a very high frequencyvibration or a varying frequency vibration. Such tactile feedback may beprovided to acknowledge the query gesture and to communicate that thenumber is zero.

Graphs of force of a query gesture on a touch-sensitive display 118 andthe tactile feedback provided are shown in FIG. 8. For example, a querygesture may request information related to the number of unread emailswhen three emails are unread. When the query gesture is imparted at aforce below a force threshold, the tactile feedback is provided at alower magnitude, for example, three lower magnitude vibrations betweentimes T1 and T2. As shown in the upper graph, the force of the querygesture increases and stays past the force threshold between time T2 andT3. At a force above the force threshold, the tactile feedback isprovided at a higher magnitude, for example, three vibrations at amagnitude distinctly higher than the lower magnitude, after time T3.Information may be repeatedly provided via tactile feedback as long asthe query gesture is provided. The tactile feedback may have a differentcharacteristic at different times when the information is provided.

In addition to changing the amplitude of the tactile feedback, the forceimparted by the query gesture may also affect the frequency at which thetactile feedback is delivered. The change in frequency may be in placeof, or in addition to, a change in the amplitude of the tactile feedbackas shown in FIG. 8.

By altering the force imparted by the query gesture, a characteristic ofthe tactile feedback and the information conveyed by the tactilefeedback may be modified. For instance, when the tactile feedbackincludes groups of pulses that indicate time, as described in theexample above, altering the force of the query gesture may increase ordecrease the rate or frequency at which the pulses or vibration of thetactile feedback are provided, such as shown in the lower graph of FIG.8, and/or the magnitude or strength of the pulses or vibration of thetactile feedback, such as is shown in the middle graph of FIG. 8.Alternatively, an increased force may, for instance, change the level ofdetail of the information. For instance, at a given location and at aforce below the threshold, each pulse may represent 5-minutes of time.At the same location, but at a force above the threshold, each pulse ofthe tactile feedback may represent one minute or provide more detailedor granular information. Alternatively, tactile feedback may be providedbased on distance along the path of the query gesture.

Although FIG. 8 illustrates examples of changing the characteristic ofthe tactile feedback when the query gesture is made above or below aforce threshold, multiple force thresholds may optionally be utilized orthe relationship between a characteristic of the query gesture and thecharacteristic of the tactile feedback may have a continuous, discrete,or other type of functional relationship. For instance, a monotonicfunction may relate a force with which the query gesture is applied tothe rate or speed at which pulses representing the quantity of emails orother information are delivered. The greater the detected force, thefaster the pulses are generated. Force may be proportional, or inverselyproportional, to the rate, duration, amplitude, and/or frequency ofpulses or other tactile feedback characteristic. Alternatively, tactilefeedback may be proportional to the speed of the gesture on thetouch-sensitive display 118.

A flowchart illustrating a method for conveying meeting information isshown in FIG. 9. The method may be carried out by software executed, forexample, by the processor 102. Coding of software for carrying out sucha method is within the scope of a person of ordinary skill in the artgiven the present description. The method may contain additional orfewer processes than shown and/or described, and may be performed in adifferent order.

When a query gesture is detected 902 on the touch-sensitive display 118,the query gesture is identified as a query for the time until the nextscheduled meeting or other scheduled event in this example. A querygesture may be detected when the query gesture is in a predeterminedlocation on the touch-sensitive display 118, such as one aligned withthe small circular guide 706 as described above, or may be a gesturesuch as a counterclockwise circle or a square drawn at any location onthe touch-sensitive display 118.

The portable electronic device 100 determines 904 whether a meeting hasbeen missed. When a meeting has already begun, tactile feedback isprovided 906 to indicate that the next meeting has already started andthat the user is late. This tactile feedback may be, for example, astrong or high-frequency vibration, high-magnitude pulse or pulses, andso forth to impart the criticality of the information. Other conditionallogic may also be utilized in the determination of whether the user islate.

When the user is not late at 904, the time until the next scheduledmeeting is determined 908. The information may be provided in pulses orvibrations or groups of pulses or vibrations that represent 1 minute, 5minutes, 15 minutes, and so forth. Stronger pulses or vibration mayindicate a meeting time drawing near and weaker pulses or vibration mayindicate a meeting that is further away.

Before providing the tactile feedback communicating the time to the nextmeeting, the device 100 may determine whether or not the force of thequery gesture exceeds 910 a force threshold. When the force of the querygesture is above the force threshold, a first type of feedback, such asa series of quick pulses or high frequency vibrations may be provided912. When the force of the query gesture is below the force threshold, asecond type of feedback, such as a series of slow pulses or lowfrequency vibrations with greater spaces existing between them may begenerated 914.

Various different types of actuators 120 may be utilized to providetactile feedback including, for example, piezoelectric actuators,vibrator motors, dome-type switches, hydraulic actuators, linearresonant actuators, electromechanical actuators, magnetic actuators, andso forth. An example of providing tactile feedback through piezoactuators is shown in FIG. 10 through FIG. 13. The tactile feedback maybe provided as any combination of one or more pulses, vibration, changein friction, high-force thump, and so forth.

A sectional side view of a portable electronic device 100 withpiezoelectric (“piezo”) actuators 120 is shown in FIG. 10. The crosssection is taken through the centers of the actuators 120. The portableelectronic device 100 includes a housing 1002 that encloses componentssuch as shown in FIG. 1. The housing 1002 may include a back 1004 and aframe 1006 that houses the touch-sensitive display 118. Sidewalls 1008extend between the back 1004 and the frame 1006. A base 1010 extendsbetween the sidewalls 1008, generally parallel to the back 1004, andsupports the actuators 120. The display 112 and the overlay 114 aresupported on a support tray 1012 of suitable material, such asmagnesium. Spacers 1016 may be located between the support tray 1012 andthe frame 1006. The spacers 1016 may advantageously be flexible and mayalso be compliant or compressible, and may comprise gel pads, springelements such as leaf springs, foam, and so forth.

The touch-sensitive display 118 is moveable and depressible with respectto the housing 1002. A force 1102 applied to the touch-sensitive display118 moves, or depresses, the touch-sensitive display 118 toward the base1010, and when sufficient force is applied, the actuator 120 isdepressed or actuated as shown in FIG. 11. The touch-sensitive display118 may also pivot within the housing to depress the actuator 120. Theactuators 120 may be actuated by pressing anywhere on thetouch-sensitive display 118. The processor 102 receives a signal whenthe actuator 120 is depressed or actuated.

A sectional side view of a piezo actuator 120 is shown in FIG. 12. Theactuator 120 may comprise one or more piezo devices or elements 1202.The cross-section of FIG. 12 is taken through the center of one of thepiezo actuators 120 utilized in this example. The piezo actuator 120 isshown disposed between the base 1010 and the touch-sensitive display118. The piezo actuator 120 includes a piezoelectric element 1202, suchas a piezoelectric ceramic disk, fastened to a substrate 1204, forexample, by adhesive, lamination, laser welding, and/or by othersuitable fastening method or device. The piezoelectric material may belead zirconate titanate or any other suitable material. Although thepiezo element 1202 is a ceramic disk in this example, the piezoelectricmaterial may have any suitable shape and geometrical features, forexample a non-constant thickness, chosen to meet desired specifications.

The substrate 1204, which may also be referred to as a shim, may becomprised of a metal such as nickel or any other suitable material suchas, for example, stainless steel, brass, and so forth. The substrate1204 bends when the piezo element 1202 contracts diametrically, as aresult of build up of charge at the piezo element 1202 or in response toa force, such as an external force applied to the touch-sensitivedisplay 118.

The substrate 1204 and piezo element 1202 may be suspended or disposedon a support 1206 such as a ring-shaped frame for supporting the piezoelement 1202 while permitting flexing of the piezo actuator 120 as shownin FIG. 12. The supports 1206 may be disposed on the base 1010 or may bepart of or integrated with the base 1010, which may be a printed circuitboard. Optionally, the substrate 1204 may rest on the base 1010, andeach actuator 120 may be disposed, suspended, or preloaded in an openingin the base 1010. The actuator 120 is not fastened to the support 1206or the base 1010 in these embodiments. The actuator 120 may optionallybe fastened to the support 1206 through any suitable method, such asadhesive or other bonding methods.

A pad 1208 may be disposed between the piezo actuator 120 and thetouch-sensitive display 118. The pad 1208 in the present example is acompressible element that may provide at least minimal shock-absorbingor buffering protection and may comprise suitable material, such as ahard rubber, silicone, and/or polyester, and/or may comprise othermaterials such as polycarbonate. The pad 1208 may provide a bumper orcushion for the piezo actuator 120 as well as facilitate actuation ofthe piezo actuator 120 and/or one or more force sensors 122 that may bedisposed between the piezo actuators 120 and the touch-sensitive display118. The pad 1208 does not substantially dampen the force applied to oron the touch-sensitive display 118. The pad 1208 is advantageouslyaligned with a force sensor 122. When the touch-sensitive display 118 isdepressed, the force sensor 122 generates a force signal that isreceived and interpreted by the microprocessor 102. The pads 1208facilitate the focus of forces exerted on the touch-sensitive display118 onto the force sensors 122. The pads 1208 transfer forces betweenthe touch-sensitive display 118 and the actuators 120, whether the forcesensors 122 are above or below the pads 1208. The pads 1208 areadvantageously flexible and resilient, and facilitate provision oftactile feedback from the actuators 120 to the touch-sensitive display118.

An optional force sensor 122 may be disposed between the piezo actuator120 and the touch-sensitive display 118 as shown in FIG. 13. The forcesensor 122 may be disposed between the touch-sensitive display 118 andthe pad 1208 or between the pad and the piezo actuator 120, to name afew examples. The force sensors 122 may be force-sensitive resistors,strain gauges, piezoelectric or piezoresistive devices, pressuresensors, quantum tunneling composites, force-sensitive switches, orother suitable devices. Force as utilized throughout the specification,including the claims, refers to force measurements, estimates, and/orcalculations, such as pressure, deformation, stress, strain, forcedensity, force-area relationships, thrust, torque, and other effectsthat include force or related quantities. A piezoelectric device, whichmay be the piezo element 1202, may be utilized as a force sensor.

Force information related to a detected touch may be utilized to selectinformation, such as information associated with a location of a touch.For example, a touch that does not meet a force threshold may highlighta selection option, whereas a touch that meets a force threshold mayselect or input that selection option. Selection options include, forexample, displayed or virtual keys of a keyboard; selection boxes orwindows, e.g., “cancel,” “delete,” or “unlock”; function buttons, suchas play or stop on a music player; and so forth. Different magnitudes offorce may be associated with different functions or input. For example,a lesser force may result in panning, and a higher force may result inzooming.

A holster may be arranged and constructed to guide or receive a querygesture while the portable electronic device 100 is disposed in theholster 1400, 1500, 1600 as shown in FIG. 14, FIG. 15, or FIG. 16. Theholster 1400, 1500, 1600 comprises a body with one or more guides atlocations aligned with an area comprised of one or more regions of thetouch-sensitive display 118. The guides are locatable by touch, i.e.,tactilely locatable, and may be, for example, holes or openings disposedin the holster 1400, 1500, 1600; shapes that are embossed, engraved,etched, carved, or otherwise formed in or on a surface of the holster1400, 1500, 1600; components attached to or formed onto the surface ofthe holster 1400, 1500, 1600; and so forth. The guides may optionally belabeled with tactile information, such as Braille characters, toidentify the relevant function, e.g., play music, or informationrequested, e.g., provide current time. The guides may be shaped toreflect the nature of the information queried or the function to beperformed. For example, a circle represents a clock for time, arectangle represents an envelope for email, and various triangles,rectangles, and/or circles represent media functions such as play,pause, or stop. A holster may include guides for various different andunrelated functions, such as emails and time, or may include guides forvarious related functions, such as media player controls or user profilesettings, e.g., vibrate all, user busy, or forward calls. The holster1400, 1500, 1600 may optionally include a clip with a spring return anda pivotable coupling between the holster and the clip. An optional flap,such as shown in FIG. 14, may extend over the top of the touch-sensitivedevice 100 to more securely hold the device in the holster 1400 and toprotect more of the device 100. The holster has a thickness sufficientto detect a relevant touch or gesture, for example, for a capacitivetouch sensor to detect a touch on the outer surface of the holster, fora resistive touch sensor to detect a press, or for a switch or actuatorto be actuated or engaged.

Different holsters may have different guides that may be associated withdifferent functions, different information, and/or different tactilefeedback. Advantageously, different holsters may have mutually exclusivelocations for their guides and the respective regions on thetouch-sensitive display 118. Similar functions on different holsters maybe aligned with the region of the display 118. An identifier may beassociated with the holster to identify the functions associated withthe holster as well as the locations of the guides on the holster. Whenthe identifier is identified, the guide locations, and their associatedarea on the touch-sensitive display 118, are identified. Thus, the areato be monitored for query gestures may be based on the identifier, whicharea is aligned with one or more guides of the holster when the device100 is holstered. The identifier may be entered into the device 100manually by the user. Optionally, the identifier may be read by thedevice 100 from information embedded in the holster, such as ainformation stored in a microchip or RF tag, information read from atactile barcode by detection of one or more touches along the sectionsof the tactile barcode, or arrangement of magnets read by one or moreHall effect sensors.

The guides provide easy location and/or access to an area of thetouch-sensitive display 118 that may be monitored for a query gesturewhile the portable electronic device 100 is holstered. Although thedevice 100 may enter a reduced power mode when holstered, query gesturedetection may remain active. To save power when holstered, the device100 may turn off illumination of the touch-sensitive display 118 as wellas disengage other features to facilitate power reduction. To minimizepower consumption, the device 100 may optionally monitor for toucheswithin an area that takes up less than the entire area of thetouch-sensitive display 118, rather than monitoring for touches on thetotal area of the touch-sensitive display 118. The area monitored maycomprise one or more regions of the touch-sensitive display 118, whichregions need not be connected or adjacent to one another. The guides areadvantageously aligned with these monitored regions of the area. Eachmonitored region may be associated with a different query, e.g., time ofday, unread emails, missed phone calls, and so forth. A query gesturemay be detected, for example, when the location of a touch coincideswith a monitored region of the area. Such a touch may occur when a usertouches the touch-sensitive display 118 through a guide that may be ahole or opening or when a touch at the location of a guide depresses oractivates an actuator 120 and/or meets a force threshold. For example,when the region of the touch-sensitive display 118 is associated withproviding information related to the current unread email count in aninbox, detection of a query gesture in this region of the area resultsin provision of tactile feedback that identifies the number of unreademails.

Optionally, when the portable electronic device 100 is detected asdisposed in a holster, query detection may be activated. Alternatively,query detection may be manually activated. Detection of holstering mayoccur, for example, when one or more magnets disposed in the holster aredetected by a Hall effect sensor in the device 100.

The example holster 1400 of FIG. 14 includes a large guide 1404 thatguides a query gesture, for example, related to the current time and asmall guide 1406 for guiding a query gesture related to another type ofinformation, such as the time to a next meeting, as described in moredetail with respect to FIG. 9, or a statistic related to email orvoicemail service, e.g., an unread or unheard message count. Othershapes may be utilized for the guides. When a query gesture traces theoutline of one of the guides 1404, 1406, or alternatively when a touchis detected inside or within the boundaries of one of the guides 1404,1406, the query gesture is more quickly detected when monitoring for aquery gesture is focused on the regions associated with the guides 1404,1406. Alternatively, other touches within the regions associated withthe guides 1404, 1406 may result in detection of the query gesture. Forexample, a corner to corner gesture within a rectangular or triangularguide may be considered a query gesture.

A film 1402, which may be a thin polymeric material, may be disposed inwithin the large guide 1404. The film 1402 is shown with large cutouts1408 at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock locations and small cutouts 1410 at 1,2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, and 11 o'clock locations to provide another tactileindication of the current location of a touch. Depending on the mannerin which the touch-sensitive display 118 detects the query gesture,e.g., by capacitive or resistive touch sensors, the film 1402 may haveelectrical properties or be sufficiently thin such that the film 1402does not alter the ability of the touch-sensitive display 118 to detectthe gesture. The film 1402 may also protect the touch-sensitive display118.

The small guide 1406 may be utilized for a query gesture that is asingle or multiple touch, such as a single tap or double tap,potentially of variable force. Such a query gesture may requestinformation about the time until a next meeting in a calendarapplication or a statistic relating to an email or voicemail. When aquery gesture is detected in the region of the touch-sensitive display118 aligned with the small guide 1406, tactile feedback is provided thatcommunicates information related to the gesture.

A holster 1500 with guides associated with functions for a media playeris shown in FIG. 15. The media player includes a plurality of guides1502, 1504, 1506, 1508, 1510, 1512, 1514, 1516, 1518 to facilitate anumber of functions. The guides include a “volume” guide 1502 comprisinga long rectangular slot, and a query gesture detected in the region ofthe touch-sensitive display 118 associated with the slot 1502 adjuststhe volume. For example, a swipe in one direction, e.g., an upwardswipe, increases volume and a swipe in the opposite direction, e.g., adownward swipe, decreases volume. Alternatively, a tap at a specificlocation along the slot may select a specific volume level, e.g., a tapat the top of the slot selects the highest volume, or a press sufficientto actuate an actuator half-way along the length of the slot selectshalf volume level. Other guides facilitate other functions such as pause1504, play 1506, previous track 1508, next track 1510, stop 1512, record1514, rewind 1516 and fast-forward 1518. These guides 1502, 1504, 1506,1508, 1510, 1512, 1514, 1516, 1518 are shown as holes or openings thatmatch the shapes that are standard representations for these functionsin a media player. A user may select a feature by touching thetouch-sensitive display 118 in the region accessible through the guide1502, 1504, 1506, 1508, 1510, 1512, 1514, 1516, 1518 or by pressing onthe holster at the location of the relevant guide with sufficient forceto depress or actuate the actuator 120 or to exceed a force threshold.By triggering a function or feedback through a holster with a force thatexceeds a threshold and/or actuates an actuator, inadvertent touches onthe holster do not result in functions being performed or tactilefeedback being provided. The guides 1502, 1504, 1506, 1508, 1510, 1512,1514, 1516, 1518 may optionally be aligned with the same regions wherethe functions are displayed on the touch-sensitive display 118 when thedevice 100 is unholstered, i.e., during normal operation, to facilitateeasier location by a user without having to look at the holster.

A simple holster 1600 with two guides 1602, 1604 is shown in FIG. 16.The two guides 1602, 1604 may be utilized to facilitate provision ofvarious different pieces of information. For example, the edge of thecircular guide 1602 may be traced in a clockwise direction to requestcurrent time as tactile feedback, such as described above. A tap ordouble tap on the touch-sensitive display 118 in the region accessiblethrough the guide 1602 may request time to a next meeting. A depressionof the touch-sensitive display 118 in the region accessible through theguide 1602, which depression is sufficient to actuate an actuator 120 orto meet a force threshold may request the number of missed calls. Theedge of the rectangular guide 1604 may be traced to request, forexample, the number of unread emails as tactile feedback, such asdescribed above. A tap or double tap on the touch-sensitive display 118in the region accessible through the guide 1604 may also request thenumber of unread emails. A depression of the touch-sensitive display 118in the region accessible through the guide 1604, which depression issufficient to actuate an actuator 120 or to meet a force threshold mayrequest the number of missed calls.

Detection of a query gesture may result in performance of a function,such as provision of tactile feedback that imparts information or mayactivate a feature in an application such as a media player. Tactilefeedback may also be provided to notify the user that a query gesturewas identified.

The touch-sensitive display 118 may display information based on theorientation of the display 118. For example, when the device is held ina portrait orientation, information is displayed in a portraitorientation. Alternatively, when the device is held in a landscapeorientation, information is displayed in a landscape orientation. Theorientation of the displayed information may automatically follow theorientation of the device by utilizing the accelerometer 136 to detectorientation. The locations of selection options may be different inportrait and landscape orientations. When the portable electronic device100 is holstered, the accelerometer 136 may be disengaged or its datadisregarded to ensure alignment of the guides with the monitored regionsof the touch-sensitive display 118 for all device 100 orientations.

Query gestures generally need not have an orientation correlated to theorientation of the touch-sensitive display 118, e.g., a gesture in theshape of an “8” or an “∞” sign may be interpreted as requesting the sameinformation. The query gestures need not be perfect, e.g., the querygestures need not comprise exactly 90 degree corners for rectangles,constant radius for circular gestures, and so forth.

The methods and devices disclosed facilitate a user request, in the formof a query gesture, for information from a portable electronic device.Instead of waiting for the device to provide a notification or reminder,the user may proactively request information from the device.Advantageously, the user need not look at the touch-sensitive display toeither request or receive information while in conversation, in ameeting, or when otherwise looking at the device may be difficult orsocially unacceptable. Such tactile feedback may be advantageous to thevisually impaired. This non-visual operation facilitates provision ofinformation via tactile feedback. Tactile feedback may be provided whilethe portable electronic device is in a pocket or holster. The entiretouch-sensitive display may be monitored for a query gesture, or Powerreduction may be facilitated when the portable electronic device isholstered by monitoring less than the total area of the touch-sensitivedisplay, for example, by monitoring only regions aligned with guides onthe holster.

A query gesture is detected on a touch-sensitive display of a portableelectronic device. In response to the query gesture, an actuator isactuated to provide tactile feedback including information associatedwith the query gesture.

A portable electronic device is also disclosed that includes atouch-sensitive display, an actuator, and a microprocessor. Themicroprocessor is configured to detect a query gesture on thetouch-sensitive display and, in response to detecting the query gesture,actuate the actuator to provide tactile feedback including informationassociated with the query gesture.

A holster comprises a body having a guide and having a pocket forreceiving a portable electronic device, wherein the guide is alignedwith an area of a touch-sensitive display of the portable electronicdevice that is disposed in the holster, and wherein the guide istactilely locatable.

A method comprises detecting when a portable electronic device having atouch-sensitive display is disposed in a holster and monitoring an areaof the touch-sensitive display for a query gesture. When the querygesture is detected in association with the area, a function isperformed associated with the query gesture.

A method comprises when a portable electronic device having atouch-sensitive display is disposed in a holster, monitoring an area ofthe touch-sensitive display for a gesture. When the gesture is detectedin association with the area, a function associated with the gesture isperformed.

The present disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from its spirit or essential characteristics. The describedembodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrativeand not restrictive. The scope of the disclosure is, therefore,indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription. All changes that come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: detecting a query gesturethat requests information; actuating, in response to the query gesture,an actuator to provide tactile feedback that communicates the requestedinformation associated with the query gesture, wherein the query gesturecomprises a generally circular path, and wherein the tactile feedbackcommunicates at least one of a first time component that is provided ata first location along the path and a second time component that isprovided at a second location along the path.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein a characteristic of the tactile feedback is based, at least inpart, on a characteristic of the query gesture.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the tactile feedback is based on a force of the querygesture.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising, entering a modethat monitors for the query gesture.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe information relates to a current time.
 6. A method of comprising:detecting a query gesture that requests information; actuating, inresponse to the query gesture, an actuator to provide tactile feedbackthat communicates the requested information associated with the querygesture, wherein the path of the query gesture extends more than 360degrees in an angular direction, and wherein the tactile feedbackcommunicates a first time component before the path extends 360 degreesand a second time component after the path extends more than 360 degreesin the angular direction.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprisingmonitoring for the query gesture in an area of a touch-sensitivedisplay.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the information relates tomeeting information from a calendar application.
 9. The method of claim1, wherein the information is provided in the tactile feedback in atleast one group representing a plurality of minutes.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the query gesture is not associated with an elementdisplayed on a touch-sensitive display.
 11. The method of claim 1,wherein the query gesture is detected on a touch-sensitive display. 12.A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having storedinstructions executable by a processor of a portable electronic deviceto cause the portable electronic device to implement the method ofclaim
 1. 13. A portable electronic device comprising: an actuator; amicroprocessor configured to: detect a query gesture that requestsinformation; in response to detecting the query gesture, actuate theactuator to provide tactile feedback that communicates the requestedinformation associated with the query gesture, wherein the query gesturecomprises a generally circular path, and wherein the tactile feedbackcommunicates at least one of a first time component that is provided ata first location along the path and a second time component that isprovided at a second location along the path.
 14. The portableelectronic device of claim 13, wherein the tactile feedback is based ona force of the query gesture.
 15. The portable electronic device ofclaim 13, further comprising a holster having a guide associated with anarea of a touch-sensitive display, which area is monitored for the querygesture.
 16. The portable electronic device of claim 13, furthercomprising a touch-sensitive display, wherein the query gesture isdetected on the touch-sensitive display.